Author: Nicole Helregel

Federal:  The National Institutes of Health Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., has announced that Patricia Flatley Brennan, R.N., Ph.D., will be the new director of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) in August 2016. Dr. Brennan is the first female director and non-physician to lead the National Library of Medicine. For more information, see…

Federal:  The confirmation hearing for Carla Hayden, President Obama’s nominee for the open Librarian of Congress position, was held on April 20th. Multiple senators spoke on her behalf and Hayden testified to her qualifications and experiences. You can view the full event on C-SPAN and you can read more about the confirmation process at the District Dispatch. State:…

Federal:  Federal library advocates pushed for strong advocacy efforts to Congress to show support for federal appropriations for libraries and library programs. Advocacy efforts were on par with last year, with over 14,000 e-mails and over 740 tweets to legislators. However, the House Budget Committee released it’s first FY 2017 Resolution on the budget on March 23…

Federal:  Registration is open for National Library Legislative Day – the advocacy event runs May 2-3 and registration is due by April 22. The event includes: an advocacy training session preconference; a briefing day with sessions on issues affecting libraries and appearances by Congressional staff, legal experts, lobbyists, and ALA staff; a Congressional reception; and meetings with…

Federal:  In delightful federal news President Obama has released his pick for the next Librarian of Congress: Dr. Carla Hayden. Hayden has most recently served as the CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore. Librarians across the country have reacted very positively to the choice, excited for a candidate who has library experience…

Federal: Last week President Obama sent his last budget request to Congress. Librarians and library advocates were disappointed that funding for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) was suggested to decrease by over $500,000. Other proposed cuts included a $950,000 reduction for the Grants to States program, a $200,000 cut for Native American Library…

Congress has increased funding for the National Library of Medicine (NLM) via the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016. Additionally, Congress approved $44.5 million in direct funding to support “implementation of the public access policy, genome-wide association studies, and other NLM initiatives.” In previous years funding for these initiatives had to be transferred to the National Center for…

This week I’d like to promote a great way to get involved with library legislation and advocacy: attending one of the 2016 ILA Legislative Meet-ups! During the month of February 2016 there will be five different legislative meet-ups across the state: three in the Chicago suburbs, one in the Metro-East area near St. Louis, and one…

Federal: Last week a spending bill was passed by Congress and the Senate and then signed into law by President Obama. Avoiding a government shutdown, the bill is a mixed bag for libraries. Funding for the Library Services and Technology Act has been increased from FY15 to FY16, as well as grants to states, funding…

Federal: The Email Privacy Act (H.R. 699) was discussed in a House Judiciary Committee last week. The act would reform the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), which unbelievably allows for text and files stored in the cloud to be subpoenaed by law enforcement authorities after they’re more than six months old without a judicial warrant…